Visakhapatnam: A 20-year-old woman from Assam who travelled to Visakhapatnam with a dance troupe was found dead beside a railway track in Andhra Pradesh’s Srikakulam district after going missing during her return journey on the Dibrugarh Vivek Express. Police are investigating the circumstances surrounding her death.

The woman, a tribal student of B Borooah College in Guwahati, belonged to Kamrup district in Assam. She had travelled to Visakhapatnam to take part in dance programmes but decided to return home ahead of a bank examination scheduled in Guwahati on October 10.

According to police, she attempted to book a Tatkal ticket online for the Silchar Express on the evening of October 5, but the reservation was not confirmed.

She subsequently reached Visakhapatnam railway station and boarded the Vivek Express (Train No. 22503), bound for Assam. According to a complaint filed by her mother, she boarded the train at 11.50 pm on October 5. The train departed at 12.10 am and was scheduled to reach Guwahati at 9.05 am on October 7.

During the journey, the woman reportedly contacted friends and family members, telling them that the coach was overcrowded and that she felt frightened because she was surrounded by male passengers. In her last message to her family, she expressed fear over the number of men around her, according to her relatives.

The woman’s body was later found beside a railway track in Srikakulam district. Investigators are examining the scene, the position of the body, injuries, witness statements, CCTV footage and the communications she made before disappearing.